Results from Day 1 of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:
Embry-Riddle 3, Tennessee Wesleyan 2 (12 innings)
Point Loma Nazarene 9, Belhaven 1
Lee 7, Lubbock Christian 6
Oklahoma City 8, Cal Baptist 0
Embry-Riddle 3, Tennessee Wesleyan 2 (12 innings)
The fans who showed up on Friday morning for the first game of the tournament were treated to three extra innings and an excellent ball game.
The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 12th on a sacrifice fly by 1B Brad Pippa. The leadoff batter in the bottom of the 12th, Josh Krummel, pinch-hitting for RF Dane Beaudette, reached first on an error. Beaudette then re-entered the game, and stole second. He tied the game on a single by 1B Branden Roper-Hubbert. Roper-Hubbert moved to second on the unsuccessful throw to home, then went to third on a single by 3B Steve Sabins. He scored the winning run on a single by LF Aaron Glaum.
Austin Quinn went 11 innings for the Eagles, allowed one run on seven hits, didn’t walk a batter. Philip Reamy, who pitched the top of the 12th, gut the win.
Quinn’s performance was matched by Bulldog starter Hamilton Bennett, who went seven innings, allowed one run on five hits, struck out nine. Jason Ferguson, who replaced Bennett in the eighth, got the loss.
Point Loma Nazarene 9, Belhaven 1
The Sea Lions got a complete game from Chad Blauer, who allowed one run on six hits, and recorded 11 strikeouts.
The Sea Lions opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with an RBI double by 2B Tyler Kuehl. The winning run came in the fifth inning when LF Rashad Taylor scored on a ground out by DH Steven Winnick.
The Blazers didn’t get on the board until the seventh inning. They left the bases loaded in the sixth.
Kuehl, Taylor, and 3B Wes Kartch were all 3-4 for the game. Brandt Hinton got the loss for the Blazers.
Another very entertaining game for the fans in Lewiston. It had a clear turning point. The Flames were behind 5-3 after four innings, due to RBI singles in the top of the fourth by RF J.J. Muse, LF Marc Gomez, and CF Rafael Thomas. The Flames tied it 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by 3B Tanner Moore and an RBI single by DH Junior Rodriguez. With the Chaparrals threatening to re-take the lead in the top of the sixth, the Flames came up with a big double play to keep the game tied.
The Flames took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth when LF Seth Walker drew a walk, moved to second on a bunt single, moved to third on a catcher interference call, and scored when CF J.J. Constantino reached on a fielder’s choice.
So, the Flames went into the ninth inning hanging onto the 6-5 lead. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Thomas hit a home run over the left field fence to tie the game 6-6. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, SS Jose Cuevas hit a walk-off home run with two outs to send the defending champions into the losers’ bracket.
Aaron Everett got the win in relief for the Flames; Hunter Scott got the loss. Moore and Cuevas were both 3-5 with an RBI for the game.
Oklahoma City 8, Cal Baptist 0
The Stars got the only run they needed on a solo home run by Chad Carman (his 14th of the season) in the second inning. The game was close until the ninth inning, when the Stars scored five runs, three of them on a bases-loaded double by Brian Fisher.
Dustin Williams pitched a complete-game shutout for the Stars, scattered six hits and four walks. The Lancers left the bases loaded in the fourth.
Carman was 3-4 for the game.
Drew Madrigal got the loss for the Lancers, went 8 2/3 innings, gave up all eight of the Stars’ runs on nine hits. He was 0-3 at the plate.
Attendance: 2,480
Schedule for Saturday, May 29 (all times PDT):
8:30 AM: Lubbock Christian vs. Belhaven
noon: Tennessee Wesleyan vs. Cal Baptist
3 PM: Cumberland vs. Embry-Riddle
7 PM: Lewis-Clark State vs. Point Loma Nazarene
All games are webcast by KOZE Radio (audio and free) and watchnaia.com (video and $8.95/day, or $24.95 for the series). Live stats are available for all games at Dakstats.
